Published: Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 6:22 p.m.

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Jacques is in his 60s, but the farrier has the physique of a much younger man — and a laid-back spirit, to boot.

"I don't work out. This job is enough of a workout for anyone," Jacques said on Wednesday as he filed down the hoof of a 9-year-old Welsh pony named Peaches.

Jacques is the official farrier for HITS Ocala Winter Circuit at Post Time Farm in Marion County. The horse show runs from January through March and Jacques, along with fellow farrier Greg Chance, are the ones who take care of most of the emergency calls.

One of the biggest issues: horses losing shoes. Many times it's a simple matter. The shoe is usually brought along and the farrier taps it back into shape and nails it back on. Ten minutes at most.

"We fix a lot of flat tires," said Jacques, who is approaching 20 years as the HITS farrier.

But sometimes it gets complicated.

"Sometimes the shoe pulls some foot with it," he said.

That's where Jacques' experience comes into play. The farrier's trade requires an intimate knowledge of a horse's anatomy and how the animal moves. But it's also an art. Trim off too much hoof or too little and you could cause more trouble for the horse.

"It's an experienced guess. There is no blueprint," Jacques said. "You try to hit that fine line. You have to maintain the right amount of foot so he has enough not to be sensitive, but not too much where it causes stress to the ligaments, tendons and bones."

The hoof, made up mostly of keratin, continues to grow throughout the animal's life. Periodically, the hoof has to be trimmed to keep the horse from becoming lame.

"The foot is everything. No hoof, no horses. That's not me saying it, that's been around forever," Jacques said.

For Peaches, formally Champlain Charade, it was time for a trim. Haleigh Landrigan, who works for Woodridge Farm, based in Massachusetts, brought in the pony.

"It's very convenient to have a farrier on site and they do a great job," Landrigan said.

She said the barn has its own farrier who comes down during the show, but when he is not in town, they use Jacques.

Several of the larger barns have their own farriers as well, but again they are not always on site.

Mark Boyle, co-owner of Judgement Farm, based near Chicago, brought in 12-year-old Rockefellar on Wednesday. The pony threw a shoe.

"It's absolutely critical to have them here. You couldn't horse show without a farrier on site," Boyle said.

Scott Hauer is a farrier from Racine, Wis. He was at HITS on Wednesday to take care of several horses for clients. He will continue on to Wellington, where he will care for other client's horses before returning to Wisconsin.

He drives his rig to the shows, which contains a forge, a drill press, an array of shoes and all his tools.

Hauer said shoeing at horse shows can be a challenge. "They have these nice big stalls, but the rest of us are trying to shoe horses in these small areas. The ground is uneven, there's traffic you have to deal with, so yeah, it's more complicated," Hauer said.

Greg Chance, who is from Maryland, said the farrier shop at HITS can go from quiet to bustling in a short time.

"We had 22 horses on Tuesday. It was non-stop. But on other days we can go hours without anyone coming in," said Chance, who has worked as a farrier for more than 20 years.

Jacques said every horse is unique and their jobs impact how they are shod. For sport horses that jump over obstacles, like at HITS, the way their foot is trimmed is different than a trail horse or a rodeo horse.

"In nature a horse doesn't jump over the log, he walks around the log, unless the mountain lion is chasing him," Jacques said. "Once we domesticate them and we find a job for them we need to keep their feet in shape."

<p>John Jacques' hands are thick and rough, the result of more than 40 years shoeing horses.</p><p>Jacques is in his 60s, but the farrier has the physique of a much younger man — and a laid-back spirit, to boot.</p><p>"I don't work out. This job is enough of a workout for anyone," Jacques said on Wednesday as he filed down the hoof of a 9-year-old Welsh pony named Peaches.</p><p>Jacques is the official farrier for HITS Ocala Winter Circuit at Post Time Farm in Marion County. The horse show runs from January through March and Jacques, along with fellow farrier Greg Chance, are the ones who take care of most of the emergency calls.</p><p>One of the biggest issues: horses losing shoes. Many times it's a simple matter. The shoe is usually brought along and the farrier taps it back into shape and nails it back on. Ten minutes at most.</p><p>"We fix a lot of flat tires," said Jacques, who is approaching 20 years as the HITS farrier.</p><p>But sometimes it gets complicated.</p><p>"Sometimes the shoe pulls some foot with it," he said.</p><p>That's where Jacques' experience comes into play. The farrier's trade requires an intimate knowledge of a horse's anatomy and how the animal moves. But it's also an art. Trim off too much hoof or too little and you could cause more trouble for the horse.</p><p>"It's an experienced guess. There is no blueprint," Jacques said. "You try to hit that fine line. You have to maintain the right amount of foot so he has enough not to be sensitive, but not too much where it causes stress to the ligaments, tendons and bones."</p><p>The hoof, made up mostly of keratin, continues to grow throughout the animal's life. Periodically, the hoof has to be trimmed to keep the horse from becoming lame.</p><p>"The foot is everything. No hoof, no horses. That's not me saying it, that's been around forever," Jacques said.</p><p>For Peaches, formally Champlain Charade, it was time for a trim. Haleigh Landrigan, who works for Woodridge Farm, based in Massachusetts, brought in the pony.</p><p>"It's very convenient to have a farrier on site and they do a great job," Landrigan said.</p><p>She said the barn has its own farrier who comes down during the show, but when he is not in town, they use Jacques.</p><p>Several of the larger barns have their own farriers as well, but again they are not always on site.</p><p>Mark Boyle, co-owner of Judgement Farm, based near Chicago, brought in 12-year-old Rockefellar on Wednesday. The pony threw a shoe.</p><p>"It's absolutely critical to have them here. You couldn't horse show without a farrier on site," Boyle said.</p><p>Scott Hauer is a farrier from Racine, Wis. He was at HITS on Wednesday to take care of several horses for clients. He will continue on to Wellington, where he will care for other client's horses before returning to Wisconsin.</p><p>He drives his rig to the shows, which contains a forge, a drill press, an array of shoes and all his tools.</p><p>Hauer said shoeing at horse shows can be a challenge. "They have these nice big stalls, but the rest of us are trying to shoe horses in these small areas. The ground is uneven, there's traffic you have to deal with, so yeah, it's more complicated," Hauer said.</p><p>Greg Chance, who is from Maryland, said the farrier shop at HITS can go from quiet to bustling in a short time.</p><p>"We had 22 horses on Tuesday. It was non-stop. But on other days we can go hours without anyone coming in," said Chance, who has worked as a farrier for more than 20 years.</p><p>Jacques said every horse is unique and their jobs impact how they are shod. For sport horses that jump over obstacles, like at HITS, the way their foot is trimmed is different than a trail horse or a rodeo horse.</p><p>"In nature a horse doesn't jump over the log, he walks around the log, unless the mountain lion is chasing him," Jacques said. "Once we domesticate them and we find a job for them we need to keep their feet in shape."</p>